THE NOBLE QUR’AN IS THE GUIDANCE FOR ALL MANKIND
“O Mankind! Worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, happily ye may guard (yourselves from evil)” (Sura Baqarah, Verse 21) WHY WAS THE QUR’AN REVEALED? Why was the Qur’an revealed? Sura Luqman, verse 3 answers this question by saying that the Qur’an is: “A guidance and a mercy unto the righteous ones.” This verse clearly tells us that the Qur’an is meant to be a guidance for the entire human race, but it is a mercy only to the “righteous ones.” Who are the “righteous ones?” This is answered in Sura Baqarah, verses 3 and 4: “Those who guard against evil, believe in the unseen, are steadfast in their prayers, spend out of what we have provided for them and who believe in that which was revealed unto thee and that which was revealed before thee, and are certain of the hereafter.” THE QUR’AN CONTAINS EVERYTHING A MAN NEEDS TO KNOW The religion of Islam is superior to any other in that it guarantees happiness in a man’s life hereafter, if he/she abides by the universal law set in the Holy Qur’an. For Muslims, Islam is a belief system with moral and practical laws that are inculcated in the Qur’an for all human beings. Allah says in the Qur’an in Sura Bani-Israel, verse 9: “Indeed this Qur’an guides to the path which is clearer and straighter than any other.” Most surely this verse strengthens the fact that mankind is in a loss if he/she does not heed the advise given to us in the Holy Qur’an. Allah says in Sura An-Nahl, verse 89: “............ We have revealed to you the book which clarifies every matter.......” The Qur’an by itself cannot teach and guide its readers because there is every possibility of misunderstanding and misinterpretations, and so, it is necessary that the teachings of Qur’an be directly taken from the Prophet and his Ahlul Bait (progeny). The Holy Prophet himself declared: “I leave among you two weighty things, the Book of Allah (the Qur’an) and my Itrat (progeny); if you hold fast to them you will never go astray; and these two shall never separate from each other till they meet at the heavenly fountain of Kauser.” (Hadith al-Thaqalayn) God, in the Holy Qur’an commands humanity that: “This is the Book. In it is guidance surely without any doubt, to those who fear God, who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what we have provided for them.” (Sura Baqarah, verse 2 and 3) Through this verse Allah commands mankind that if/she wants guidance they must turn towards him through different sections. Also the Qur’an states in Sura Luqman, verse 2-4: “These are the verses of the wise Book. A guide and a mercy to those who do good, those who establish regular prayers, and give regular charity, and have in their hearts the assurance of the hereafter.” The above ayat shows some examples of the actions which man must perform in order to know the All Mighty Creator. The Qur’an is very steadfast about being a guidance to man as seen in the following ayats. Allah says in Sura Bani-Israel, verse 105: “We sent down the Qur’an in truth, and in truth has it descended: And we sent thee but to give glad tidings and to warn (mankind).” The Holy Qur’an is a law of guidance, it is a message of significant importance which has to be obeyed and followed by the entire mankind. Allah says in Sura Abasa, verse 11: “Nay! but the Qur’an is a reminder.” A reminder for whom? But of course mankind. Imam Ali (A.S.), in one of his sermons in Nahjul Balagha, said: “Read the Holy Qur’an carefully because, it is the most sublime of all holy Books; try to understand and study it diligently, because it is the best food for thought; enlighten your mind with its teachings, because it’s divine is the best cure for diseased mentally; and read it with sincerely good intentions. because it contains very useful and instructive episodes from the history of man.” He continues in saying that the Qur’an is the best guide in the realm where glory of God dwells: “It contains the best of everything that can give satisfaction for a supermind. It is the greatest source of knowledge for mankind. It purifies one’s idea and broadens the vision.” These words from the talking Qur’an reveals the secret that his Book is surely the gem for humans. To emphasize this point the Qur’an informs people of the Ahlul Bait (talking Qur’an). The Qur’an says in the following verse that it establishes the highest position equal to that of the Ahlul Bait as proclaimed by the Holy Prophet in the Hadith al-Thaqalayn. “If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to gather together to produce the like of the Qur’an, they could not produce the like there of, even if they backed up each other with help and support.” (Sura Bani-Israel, verse 88) This verse tells us how important the Qur’an is, and even if the whole mankind and Jinns were to produce the like of the Qur’an, they could not have done it. In Sura Bani-Israel, verse 9, it says: “Verily this Qur’an does guide to that which is most light(for stable), and gives the glad tidings to the believers who work towards righteousness, that they shall have a magnificent reward.” WHO WILL ALLAH GUIDE? We have so many verses in the Qur’an that tells us that the Qur’an is a guidance to mankind and Allah guides those who obey the commands of Allah. In the Qur’an in Sura Yunus, verse 9, it says:“Those who believe, and work in righteousness, the Lord will guide them because of the faith.” This verse tells us who Allah will guide, and it also gives us a message that we shall believe in the religion and obey the commands of Allah. In another place in Sura Muhammed, verse 17, it says: “And to those who receive guidance; he increases the Light of Guidance, and bestows on them their piety and restrains from evil.” THE UNIVERSAL MESSAGE TO EVERY HUMAN BEING The Qur’an is not only talking to the Muslims or to a particular sect of Muslim. The Qur’an is also talking to Non-Islamic societies as well as the Muslim nation as a whole. There are many references to non-believers and idol-worshippers, to the people of the Book (Jews or the Tribe of Isreal, and the Christians). The Qur’an calls each group to Islam by providing proofs and never stipulates that they be of Arab stock. Referring to the idol-worshippers, Allah says in Sura Al-Bara’at, verse 11: “If they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then they are your brothers in religion.” The universal message is clear in its complexity for it develops the idea that Islam and Qur’an is the message for all human beings. Likewise, Allah talks about the people of the Book, { Jews, Christians, and Arabs (Zoroastrians) }. “Say O people of the Book come to an agreement between us and you: That you shall worship none but God and that we shall ascribe no partners to him and that none of us shall take others for Lords beside God.” (Sura Al-e-Imran, verse 64) In these verses we see Allah addressing different people telling them of the right path, surely this is the most gracious Book to guide us all. From the sixth year after Hijrah, when the din of Islam was being propagated beyond the Arabian peninsula, there are references which demonstrate that the Qur’an is addressing itself to mankind in general; for example in Sura Al An’am, verse 19, it says: “This Qur’an has been revealed to me that I may warn you and whomever it may reach.” This warning is to none other than humans of the time. Therefore in Sura Al-Qalam, verse 52, it says: “It is nothing but a reminder to the world.” Surely the world is a inhabited by all creeds and race and so the book remains the source of guidance to all the people of the world. The word ‘mankind’ has been mentioned at least six times in the Qur’an. In light of this Islam has embraced by a number of leading members of other religions, including idol-worshippers of Mecca, Jews, Christians, and people from other communities, such as Salman of Persia, Suhayb from Rome, and Bilal from Ethiopia. The Qur’an uses the word ‘people’ to address the universal message of Islam. There are 513 times that the Qur’an uses the word people in various verses. The terminology that the Qur’an uses clearly indicates that the Qur’an is not for Muslims but to the whole mankind. REFER TO THE HOLY BOOK OR THE PROPHET FOR EVERY PROBLEM Imam Jaffer as-Sadiq (A.S.) has said, “There is not a single difference of opinion between two persons whose solution is not given in the Book of Allah, the mighty, the glorious. But their intelligence does not fathom its depth.” In this Hadith, it mentions about two persons, these two persons can be anyone from any walk of life, so this Hadith is telling us that there is every answer to every problem which any man may have, therefore this book of guidance is for the complete human race whose problems are answered in a clear form within the ayats of the Qur’an. In conclusion, Imam Jaffer as-Sadiq (A.S.) has said, "I am the descendant of the Prophet of Allah. I most thoroughly know the Book of Allah. In it is mentioned the beginning of the creation and also whatever is going to happen till the day of judgment. It contains all information about the heaven and the earth, paradise and hell, and the news of all that has happened and that is going to happen. I know all that as if I am looking at the palm of my hand." Allah says in Sura An-Nahl, verse 89: “And we have revealed to you explaining everything clearly.” Mashallah! One does not have to go further than these glorious words which in all aspect prove that the Qur’an contains the universal message of Islam, and that Islam and the Qur’an are the only source of guidance to humanity. Written By: Shahid Juma REFERENCE Holy Qur’an Essence of the Holy Qur’an by Ayatullah Agha Haji Mahdi Pooya. Know Your Islam by Yusef N. Lalljee Guidance from Qur’an by Mulla Hassan A. Rahim The Qur’an in Islam by Allamah Sayyid M.H. Tabatabai Al-Mizan, An Exegesis of the Qur’an, Vol.1 by Allamah Sayyid M.H. Tabatabai Al-Kaafi (Vol.1) by Muhammed Ibne Yakoob Kulayni